Population and/or animation of spatial visualization(s)

ABSTRACT

One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for populating and/or animating a spatial visualization, such as a map, a timeline, and/or other 2D and/or 3D visual representations of locations. The spatial visualization may be populated with events extracted from a data source (e.g., real-time events, news events, social network events, etc.), and may include relationships between events (e.g., based upon time, location, contextual similarity (e.g., social network check-in events at a restaurant), events referencing one another (e.g., an article describing a first event may comprise a hyperlink to an article describing a second event) etc.). Filter criteria (e.g., date, event type, location, etc.) may be applied to events and/or relationships when populating the spatial visualization. A sequence of events and corresponding relationships may be animated within the spatial visualization (e.g., as the events unfold over a (user) designated period of time).

BACKGROUND

Today, users are able to create, organize, share, and/or interact with awide variety of digital information or content. In one example, a usermay interact with travel directions provided by a mapping application ona cell phone. In another example, a user may be able to create a socialnetwork profile that may be shared with friends through a social networkservice. To aid users in locating desired content, search engines mayprovide organized content to users in response to user search queries(e.g., a photo sharing search engine, a web page search engine, a filesystem search engine, etc.). Such content may be organized into textualand/or visual lists. Unfortunately, displaying content within suchcontent organization structures may not provide a dynamic view of thecontent over time. Conventional content organizational structures maynot illustrate relationships between content, how content has evolvedover time, and/or spatial information of such content. Accordingly, theuser may be left to sift through a vast amount of unorganized content tolocate desired content while other information may be unavailable tousers in a digestible form using current conventional methods.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key factors oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Among other things, one or more systems and/or techniques for populatingand/or animating a spatial visualization are disclosed herein. It may beappreciated that a spatial visualization may comprise any one or more ofa variety of location-based visualizations, such as maps, 3D maps,graphs, timelines, etc. The spatial visualization may be populated withevents and/or relationships between events. An event may comprise dataassociated with a location and/or an event time (e.g., a singledate/time, a date/time range, a point in time, time span, time frame,etc.). For example, events may comprise historical events (e.g., births,deaths, natural disasters, battles, etc.), news stories, sports events(e.g., tackles, shots, penalties, and/or other key moments within asoccer game), personal events (e.g., taking a photo, making a phonecall, social network “checking in” at a particular location, performinga web search, etc.), real-time events (e.g., social network “check-ins”,web searches, localized micro-blogging messages, etc.), and/or aplethora of other types of events.

In one example of populating the spatial visualization, a set of eventsmay be extracted from a data source (e.g., a social network service, awebsite, a mapping service, a GPS device, an online article database, anonline encyclopedia database, a real-time stream of data, etc.). Eventtypes may be assigned to events based upon various factors. In oneexample, an event type field defined by or within the data source may beevaluated to identify the event type (e.g., a social network service mayexplicitly define an event as a social network check-in event type). Inanother example, a classification technique may be executed upon datafrom the data source to identify the event type (e.g., a textclassification technique may be executed upon an article of an onlineencyclopedia website to determine that the article describes a naturaldisaster type of event). In this way, an event may comprise an eventtype. The event may comprise a location, which may be explicitlyidentified (e.g., GPS location, latitude/longitude information, etc.)and/or implicitly identified (e.g., implied based upon address lines,location names, etc.). The event may comprise an event date, which maybe explicitly identified and/or implicitly identified (e.g., identifiedfrom a textual date description).

A set of relationships associated with the set of events may be created.A relationship may be defined by a first event, a second event, arelationship time (e.g., a point in time, time span, time frame, etc.),and/or a relationship type. The relationship may describe an associationbetween the first event and the second event (e.g., a directedrelationship and/or an undirected relationship). In one example, therelationship may be based upon a temporal relationship. The temporalrelationship may be identified based upon a first event time of thefirst event corresponding to a second event time of the second event(e.g., a first shot on goal event may be temporally associated with asecond shot on goal event based upon the shots on goal occurring withina few seconds of one another during a soccer game). In another example,the relationship may be based upon a spatial relationship. The spatialrelationship may be identified based upon a first location of the firstevent corresponding to a second location of the second event (e.g., afirst friend check-in event at a movie theater may be spatiallyassociated with a second friend check-in event at the movie theater,which may indicate that the first friend and second friend may beviewing a movie together). In another example, the relationship may bebased upon a referential relationship. The referential relationship maybe identified based upon data associated with the first event comprisinga reference to data associated with the second event (e.g., a firstarticle describing the first event may comprise a reference to a secondarticle describing the second event). In another example, therelationship may be based upon a contextual relationship. The contextualrelationship may be identified based upon a first event type of thefirst event corresponding to a second event type of the second event(e.g., a first shot on goal event may be contextually related to asecond shot on goal event because both events may comprise an event typeof blue team shot on goal event type).

The spatial visualization may be populated using one or more events fromthe set of events and/or using one or more relationships from the set ofrelationships. For example, the spatial visualization may comprise asoccer field map. A user may specify filter criteria that penalty eventsand penalty shot events by a blue team during a first half of a soccergame are to be populated within the soccer field map. In this way, blueteam penalty events and/or blue team penalty shot events within the setof events may be populated within the spatial visualization (e.g., blueteam penalty events may be illustrated by blue star symbols and blueteam penalty shot events may be illustrated as blue soccer ball symbolswithin the soccer field map). Relationships between such events may bepopulated within the spatial visualization. For example, a directedrelationship comprising a blue team penalty shot event having a directedrelationship to a blue team penalty event may be illustrated as anarrowed edge from the blue team penalty event to the blue team penaltyshot event. The spatial visualization may be repopulated based uponsubsequent filter criteria (e.g., the user may specify that shots ongoal by the blue team during a second half of the soccer game are to bepopulated within the soccer field map). In this way, a user mayinteractively visualize events and/or relationships between eventswithin the spatial visualization. For example, the user may specify adesired time frame using any kind of interface such as text boxes, dropdown boxes, time sliders etc.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the followingdescription and annexed drawings set forth certain illustrative aspectsand implementations. These are indicative of but a few of the variousways in which one or more aspects may be employed. Other aspects,advantages, and novel features of the disclosure will become apparentfrom the following detailed description when considered in conjunctionwith the annexed drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of populating aspatial visualization.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of populating aspatial visualization.

FIG. 3 is a component block diagram illustrating an exemplary system forpopulating a spatial visualization.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of a set of events.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example of a set of relationships.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an example of a spatial visualizationpopulated with events and/or undirected relationships.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an example of repopulating a spatialvisualization with events and/or undirected relationships.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example of a spatial visualizationpopulated with events, undirected relationships, and/or directedrelationships

FIG. 9 is an illustration of an example of a spatial visualizationpopulated with events and/or undirected relationships.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of an example of a spatial visualizationpopulated with events and/or directed relationships.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of an exemplary computer-readable mediumwherein processor-executable instructions configured to embody one ormore of the provisions set forth herein may be comprised.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary computing environment wherein one ormore of the provisions set forth herein may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. It may beevident, however, that the claimed subject matter may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, structures anddevices are illustrated in block diagram form in order to facilitatedescribing the claimed subject matter.

Events, such as historic events, social network events, sporting gameevents, etc., may be identifiable and/or described by data sources(e.g., a social network service, an article database, an image database,etc.). Unfortunately, a data source may not adequately organize and/orpresent such events to a user, which may leave the user to sift throughthousands of unorganized events and potentially miss desirableinformation inherently available in the data source but not madeavailable through conventional methods. Additionally, the data sourcemay not identify and/or describe relationships between events for theuser. For example, a web search engine may merely return a list ofrelevant websites associated with a search query submitted by a user,but may not identify relationships between events described within suchwebsites.

Accordingly, among other things, one or more systems and/or techniquesfor populating a spatial visualization are provided herein. Inparticular, a spatial visualization, such as a map, may be populatedwith events and/or relationships between events. In one example, thespatial visualization may be presented as an interactive user interface,where events may be illustrated as symbols, undirected relationships maybe illustrated as edges between events, and directed relationships maybe illustrated as arrowed edges between events, for example. It may beappreciated that other illustrations of events, undirectedrelationships, and/or directed relationships are contemplated herein(e.g., textual illustrations, visual illustrations, audio illustrations,and/or video illustrations may be used). The spatial visualization maybe dynamically repopulated based upon occurrences of new real-timeevents and/or may be dynamically repopulated based upon filter criteria(e.g., a date filter, a location filter, an event type filter, a userpreference filter, etc.). For example, a user may utilize a time sliderto specify a time range of events to display within the spatialvisualization. It may be appreciated that the time range may vary from asingle point in time to a time period (e.g., a time period within a fewminutes, a time period within a day, a time period spanning a few days,a time period spanning years, etc.). In another example, the spatialvisualization may be animated over a time frame (e.g., through a timeslider and/or text input). For example, events and/or relationships may“unfold” over time from a starting time of the time frame to an endingtime of the time frame (e.g., the time slider may move at a fixed speedof 1 year/second for an animation of historic events over a 30 year timeframe, such that events and/or relationships corresponding to a currenttime of the time slider (e.g., as the slider moves at the fixed speed(e.g., for 30 seconds)) may be illustrated within the spatialvisualization).

One embodiment of populating a spatial visualization is illustrated byan exemplary method 100 in FIG. 1. At 102, the method starts. At 104, aset of events may be extracted from a data source. In one example,events may be extracted from various web sources, such as a web articledatabase. In another example, events may be extracted in real-time asthey become available from the data source, such as a real-time streamof social network updates. The events may comprise a location and/or anevent time (e.g., a penalty shot event of a soccer game may comprise alocation within a soccer field and/or a time at which the penalty shotevent occurred). Event types may be assigned to events within the set ofevents. In one example, an event type field defined by the data sourcemay be evaluated to identify the event type (e.g., a social network datasource may specify that a friend check-in event is of a check-in eventtype). In another example, a classification technique may be executedupon data from the data source to identify the event type (e.g., atext-based classification technique may be executed upon an article todetermine that the article describes a historic battle, which may beassigned a battle event type). In this way, an event may comprise alocation, an event time, and/or an event type, for example.

At 106, a set of relationships associated with the set of events may becreated. A relationship may comprise a first event, a second event, arelationship time (e.g., a point in time, time span, time frame, etc.),and/or a relationship type. In one example, the relationship maycomprise a directed relationship from the first event to the secondevent (e.g., a penalty kick event may have a directed relationship to apenalty event because the penalty kick event resulted from theoccurrence of the penalty event). In another example, the relationshipmay comprise an undirected relationship between a first event and asecond event (e.g., a first party invitation acceptance event associatedwith Dan and a second party invitation acceptance event associated withColleen to the same party may have an undirected relationship). Therelationship time may be defined based upon a first event time of thefirst event and a second event time of the second event. It may beappreciated, however, that as provided herein the relationship may bedefined in any other way which describes a time, time span, time frame,etc. during which a relationship exists between the two events. Therelationship type may be defined based upon a first event type of thefirst event and a second event type of the second event. It may beappreciated, however, that the relationship may additionally oralternatively be derived from other event properties (e.g., such as timeand/or location) and/or derived through other manner(s). In this way, arelationship may comprise a first event, a second event, a relationshiptime, and/or a relationship type.

In one example of creating a relationship, the relationship may be basedupon a temporal relationship identified based upon a first event time ofthe first event and a second event time of the second event. Forexample, a temporal relationship may be identified based upon a firstcheck-in event at a movie theater by Dan with a 9:00 pm event time and asecond check-in event at the movie theater by Colleen with a 9:01 pmevent time (e.g., Dan and Colleen attended the movie together). Inanother example of creating a relationship, the relationship may bebased upon a spatial relationship identified based upon a first locationof the first event corresponding to a second location of the secondevent (e.g., a spatial relationship may be identified based upon a firstJapan earthquake article describing a rescue event in Sendai and asecond Japan earthquake article describing a survivor story event inSendai). In one example, temporal relationships and/or spatialrelationships may be based upon threshold time spans and/or thresholddistances.

In another example of creating a relationship, the relationship may bebased upon a referential relationship identified based upon dataassociated with the first event comprising a reference to dataassociated with the second event (e.g., a referential relationship maybe identified based upon a first article describing a rescue eventcomprising a reference, such as a hyperlink, to a second articledescribing a survivor story event). In another example of creating arelationship between first and second events, the relationship may bebased upon a contextual relationship identified based upon a first eventtype of the first event corresponding to a second event type of thesecond event (e.g., a contextual relationship may be identified basedupon a blue team penalty shot event type of a first penalty shot eventcorresponding to a blue team penalty shot event type of a second penaltyshot event). It may be appreciated that a relationship may be based upona variety of other types of relationships and/or may be based upon acombination of one or more types of relationships.

At 108, a spatial visualization may be populated using one or moreevents from the set of events and/or one or more relationships from theset of relationships. The spatial visualization may comprise a varietyof visualizations, such as a map, a timeline, and/or a visualrepresentation of a physical location, for example. Events may berepresented as symbols within the spatial visualization (e.g., arestaurant check-in event may be represented by a food symbol, while amovie check-in event may be represented by a movie reel symbol). Asymbol of an event may be sized according to an importance ranking,which may be determined based upon evaluating data associated with theevent from the data source. For example, a symbol representing a firstsoccer shot event resulting in a final game winning goal may be sizedlarger than a symbol representing a second soccer shot event resultingin a goalie save (e.g., a high importance ranking may be assigned to thefirst soccer shot event based upon evaluating an article describing thegame winning shot of the soccer game).

The spatial visualization may be populated based upon filter criteria(e.g., a date filter, a location filter, an event type filter, a userpreference filter, etc.). For example, the filter criteria may beapplied to the set of events to create a filtered set of events (e.g., asoccer shot event type filter may be used create a filtered set ofsoccer shot events out of some or all events recorded in a soccer game).The filter criteria may be applied to the set of relationships to createa filtered set of relationships (e.g., a penalty resulting in penaltykick filter may be used to create a filtered set of directedrelationships of penalty kick events having directed relationships topenalty events). In this way, the spatial visualization may be populatedand/or repopulated based upon the filter criteria. The spatialvisualization may be presented as an interactive user interface (e.g., auser may visually explore dynamic events and/or relationships that maybe populated and/or repopulated within the spatial visualization basedupon user input, such as filter criteria specified by the user, and/orbased upon occurrences of new real-time events). Events may beillustrated as symbols, undirected relationships may be illustrated asedges between events, and/or directed relationships may be illustratedas arrowed edges between events, for example. In one example, a firstspatial visualization (e.g., check-in events occurring in April) may belinked to a second spatial visualization (e.g., check-in eventsoccurring in May), which may provide a user friendly interface for auser to explore events across various spatial visualizations. At 110,the method ends

One embodiment of populating a spatial visualization is illustrated byan exemplary method 200 in FIG. 2. At 202, the method starts. It may beappreciated that in one example, a set of events may have been extractedfrom a data source, and that a set of relationships associated with theset of events may have been created. At 204, filter criteria (e.g., adate filter, a location filter, an event type filter, a user preferencefilter, etc.) may be received. In one example, a user may have set auser preference filter that social network check-in events from aparticular set of friends are to be displayed within the spatialvisualization. In another example, a user may have slid a time slider toa particular date/time range, which may be received as a date filter. Inanother example, GPS coordinates of a cell phone may be received as alocation filter. It may be appreciated that in one example, a user ofthe cell phone may consent (e.g., turn on an option) for GPS coordinatesof the cell phone to be utilized. In another example, a user may haveselected a penalty kick event type within an event type dropdown box,which may be received as an event type filter.

At 206, one or more events from the set of events may be identifiedbased upon the filter criteria (e.g., penalty kick events and penaltyevents of a soccer game may be identified based upon a penalty kickevent type filter and a penalty event type filter). At 208, one or morerelationships associated with the one or more events may be identified(e.g., directed relationships between penalty kick events to penaltyevents may be identified). At 210, the spatial visualization may bepopulated using the one or more events and/or the one or morerelationships (e.g., an interactive soccer field map may be populated).In one example, the spatial visualization may be animated over a timeframe (e.g., if a time frame of 45 minutes is specified, then eachminute of the soccer game may be represented as a second of animation,and thus an animation time slider may move at one minute/second during a45 second animation). At 212, the method ends.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a system 300 configured for populatinga spatial visualization 312. The system 300 may comprise a populationcomponent 304, an animation component 320, and/or an interactioncomponent 316. The population component 304 may be configured to extracta set of events 306 from a data source 302. An event may comprise alocation, an event time, and/or an event type (e.g., an event typepredefined by the data source 302 and/or an event type identified usinga classification technique, such as a text classification technique).The population component 304 may be configured to create a set ofrelationships 308 associated with the set of events 306. A relationshipmay comprise a first event, a second event, a relationship time, and/ora relationship type (e.g., a directed relationship and/or an undirectedrelationship between the first event and the second event occurring atthe relationship time). A relationship may be based upon a temporalrelationship (e.g., the first and second events occurring at similartime periods), a spatial relationship (e.g., the first and second eventsoccurring in similar locations), a referential relationship (e.g., dataassociated with the first event referencing data associated with thesecond event), a contextual relationship (e.g., the first and secondevents may be similar types of events) and/or any other kind ofrelationship that relates two events to one another (e.g., as may beprovided for by mathematical set theory).

The population component 304 may be configured to populate 310 thespatial visualization 312 using one or more events from the set ofevents 306 and/or one or more relationships from the set ofrelationships 308. In one example, the population component 304 may beconfigured to receive filter criteria (e.g., a date filter, a locationfilter, an event type filter, a user preference filter, etc.). Thepopulation component 304 may apply the filter criteria to the set ofevents 306 and/or the set of relationships 308 to determine the one ormore events and/or the one or more relationships with which to populate310 the spatial visualization 312. For example, a user may specify aninterest in party events and restaurant check-in events of friends froma social network. The spatial visualization 312 may be populated 310with a party invitation event of a party host, a party acceptance eventof a party attendee (1), a party acceptance event of a party attendee(2), and/or a party acceptance event of a party attendee (3), which maybe illustrated as black circle symbols. The spatial visualization 312may be populated 310 with contextually-based directed relationships fromthe party acceptance events to the party invitation event because suchevents may relate to a party (e.g., and thus are contextually-based) andare directed because the acceptance events may have occurred in responseto the party invitation event). The spatial visualization 312 may bepopulated 310 with a restaurant check-in event of friend (1), arestaurant check-in event of friend (2), and/or a restaurant check-inevent of friend (3), which may be illustrated as transparent circlesymbols with slanted lines or hash marks. The spatial visualization 312may be populated 310 with spatially-based undirected relationshipsbetween the restaurant check-in events because the restaurant check-inevents may have occurred within a threshold distance and/or time of oneanother, but not necessarily in response to a particular event (e.g.,the party invitation event), and thus may be treated as undirectedrelationships.

The interaction component 316 may be configured to receive filtercriteria 314 (e.g., a date filter, a location filter, an event typefilter, a user preference filter, etc.). The interaction component 316may be configured to create a filtered set of events and/or a filteredset of relationships based upon the filter criteria 314. In this way,the interaction component 316 may be configured to repopulate 318 thespatial visualization 312 based upon the filtered set of events and/orthe filtered set of relationships.

The animation component 320 may be configured to animate the spatialvisualization 312 over a time frame (e.g., illustrate events and/orrelationships as they occur or unfold during the time frame). Forexample, a 10 hour time frame may be set for the spatial visualization312, such that events and/or relationships may be illustrated within thespatial visualization 312 as they occur during the 10 hour time frame.For example, 20 minute portions of the 10 hour time frame may berepresented as 1 second animation time frames (e.g., an animation timeslider may move at 20 minutes/second during a 30 second animation of a10 hour period of time). For example, events and/or relationshipsoccurring within a first 20 minutes may be illustrated within thespatial visualization 312 during a first 1 second animation time frame,events and/or relationships occurring within a second 20 minutes may beillustrated within the spatial visualization 312 during a second 1second animation time frame, etc. In this way, events and/orrelationships may be animated within the spatial visualization 312 asthey “unfold” over time.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example 400 of a set of events 402. The set ofevents 402 may comprise an event (1) 404, an event (2) 406, an event (3)408, an event (4) 410, and/or other non-illustrated events extractedfrom a data source, such as a social network. In one example, event (1)404 may be associated with metadata describing event (1) 404 as beingbased upon a social network update from Bill's profile at 12:15 pm,which may indicate that Bill is at Dan's Deli Lunch Foods to meet Kimfor Lunch. Event (1) 404 may comprise a location of Dan' Deli LunchFoods, an event time of 12:15 pm, and/or an event type of restaurantcheck-in (e.g., the social network may have specified that event (1) 404is of a check-in event type, which may be further identified as arestaurant check-in type based upon performing a web search query and/ora classification technique to determine that Dan's Deli Lunch Foods is arestaurant).

Event (2) 406 may be associated with metadata describing event (2) 406as being based upon a social network update from Kim's profile at 12:20pm indicating that Kim is at Dan's Deli Lunch Foods to meet Bill forlunch. Event (2) 406 may comprise a location of Dan' Deli Lunch Foods,an event time of 12:20 pm, and/or an event type of restaurant check-in(e.g., the social network may have specified that event (2) 406 is of acheck-in event type, which may be further identified as a restaurantcheck-in type based upon performing a web search query and/or aclassification technique to determine that Dan's Deli Lunch Foods is arestaurant).

Event (3) 408 may be associated with metadata describing event (3) 408as being based upon a social network message from Colleen's profile at9:00 am, which invited Sebastian, George, Kathy, and four others to abirthday party. Event (3) 408 may comprise a location of Colleen'shouse, an event time of 9:00 am (e.g., when the social network messagewas sent), and an event type of birthday party (e.g., the birthday partyevent type may have been identified based upon a text-basedclassification technique executed upon the social network message and/orfrom an event type that was chosen by Colleen explicitly and stored withthe message event).

Event (4) 410 may be associated with metadata describing event (4) 410as being based upon a social network message from Sebastian's profile at10:25 AM, which accepted the invitation from Colleen for the birthdayparty. Event (4) may comprise a location of Sebastian's house (e.g.,where the social network message was created), an event time of 10:25 am(e.g., when the social network message was sent), and an event type ofbirthday party (e.g., the birthday party event type may have beenidentified based upon a text-based classification technique executedupon the social network message and/or from an event type associatedwith the acceptance message event).

FIG. 5 illustrates an example 500 of a set of relationships 502. The setof relationships 502 may comprise a relationship (1) 504, a relationship(2) 506, and/or other non-illustrated relationships associated with aset of events (e.g., set of events 402 of FIG. 4). In one example,relationship (1) 504 may correspond to a directed relationship from afirst event, Sebastian's invitation acceptance event, to a second event,Colleen's birthday party invitation event. Relationship (1) 504 may bedirected because the first event occurred because of the second event(e.g., Sebastian's invitation acceptance event occurred in response toColleen's birthday party invitation event). Relationship (1) 504 may bebased upon a contextual relationship between the first event and secondevent because both events relate to Colleen's birthday party.Relationship (1) 504 may comprise a relationship time of 9:00 am (e.g.,when Colleen's birthday party invitation was sent) to 10:25 am (e.g.,when Sebastian's invitation acceptance was sent). In this way,relationship (1) 504 may comprise the first event, the second event, therelationship time, and/or the relationship type.

Relationship (2) 506 may correspond to an undirected relationshipbetween a first event, Bill's restaurant check-in event, and a secondevent, Kim's restaurant check-in event. Relationship (2) 506 may beundirected because respective events may not have caused the occurrenceof the other event. Relationship (2) 506 may be based upon a spatialrelationship and/or a temporal relationship between the first event andthe second event because both events may have occurred at a similarlocation (e.g., a restaurant) and/or at a similar time (e.g., 12:15 pmand 12:20 pm). In this way, relationship (2) 506 may comprise the firstevent, the second event, the relationship time, and/or the relationshiptype.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example 600 of a spatial visualization 602populated with events and/or undirected relationships. The spatialvisualization 602 may comprise a neighborhood map populated based uponfilter criteria 624. The filter criteria 624 may comprise a date filter626 of 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, a location filter 628 of a current locationfrom a GPS of a user's cell phone (e.g., based upon consent provided bya user of the cell phone), an event type filter 630 of friend check-inevents, and/or a user preference filter 632 of friend events within asocial network. Accordingly, the spatial visualization 602 may bepopulated with friend check-in events from the social network, whichoccurred near a current location of the user from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm.

In one example of populating the spatial visualization 602, friendcheck-in events may be illustrated as black circle symbols within theneighborhood map near locations at which such friend check-in eventsoccurred. For example, a first friend check-in event 604, a secondfriend check-in event 606, a third friend check-in event 608, and/or afourth friend check-in event 610 may be illustrated near a schoollocation within the neighborhood map (e.g., four friends may havechecked in near the school between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm). Undirectedrelationships 612 between the second friend check-in event 606, thethird friend check-in event 608, and/or the fourth friend check-in event610 may be illustrated based upon a temporal relationship and/or aspatial relationship (e.g., three friends may have checked in from thesame classroom and/or at substantially the same time (e.g., during thesame class period), whereas the first friend check-in event 604 may haveoccurred at a somewhat different location and/or time). The relationshipmay also represent other undirected properties such as students that arefriends, visit the same class, are of the same age and/or gender etc.(e.g., not merely local and/or temporal in nature, etc.).

A fifth friend check-in event 614 and/or a sixth friend check-in event616 may be illustrated near a store location within the neighborhood map(e.g., two friends may have checked in near the store between 9:00 amand 4:00 pm). An undirected relationship 618 may be illustrated betweenthe fifth friend check-in event 614 and the sixth friend check-in event616 based upon a temporal relationship, a spatial relationship, and/or areferential relationship (e.g., two friends may have checked in at thestore at a similar time, while at least one of the friends may havespecified/referenced that they were with the other friend at the store).A seventh friend check-in event 620 and an eighth friend check-in event622 may be illustrated near a restaurant location within theneighborhood map. However, no relationship may be created between theseventh and eighth friend check-in events because no relationship mayexist (e.g., one friend may have checked in at 10:00 am at therestaurant, while the other friend may have checked in at 1:00 pm at therestaurant). In this way, the spatial visualization 602 may be populatedwith events and/or undirected relationships based upon the filtercriteria 624.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example 700 of repopulating a spatialvisualization 702 with events and/or undirected relationships. Thespatial visualization 702 may comprise a neighborhood map repopulatedbased upon filter criteria 710 (e.g., spatial visualization 602 of FIG.6 may be repopulated/updated based upon user input through a time sliderto specify a new date/time filter of 6:00 pm). The filter criteria 710may comprise a date filter 712 of 6:00 pm, a location filter 714 of acurrent location from a GPS of a user's cell phone (e.g., based uponconsent provided by a user of the cell phone), an event type filter 716of friend check-in events, and/or a user preference filter 718 of friendevents within a social network. Accordingly, the spatial visualization702 may be repopulated with friend check-in events from the socialnetwork occurring near a current location of the user around 6:00 pm.

In one example of repopulating the spatial visualization 702, friendcheck-in events may be illustrated as black circle symbols within theneighborhood map near locations at which such friend check-in eventsoccurred. For example, a first friend check-in event 704 may beillustrated near a store (e.g., a friend may have checked in near thestore around 6:00 pm). A first set of friend check-in events 706 may beillustrated near a restaurant (e.g., four friends may have checked innear the restaurant around 6:00 pm). Undirected relationships may beillustrated between the first set of friend check-in events 706 basedupon a contextual relationship (e.g., the friend check-in events may allbe dinner check-in event types) and/or a referential relationship (e.g.,the four friends may have specified/referenced that they were checkingin together for dinner at the restaurant).

A second set of friend check-in events 708 may be illustrated near therestaurant (e.g., four other friends may have checked in near therestaurant around 6:00 pm). Undirected relationships may be illustratedbetween the second set of friend check-in events 708 based upon acontextual relationship (e.g., the friend check-in events may all bedinner check-in event types) and/or a referential relationship (e.g.,the four other friends may have specified/referenced that they werechecking in together for dinner at the restaurant). In this way, thespatial visualization 702 may be repopulated with events and/orundirected relationships based upon the filter criteria 710 (e.g., at alater point in time fewer events are occurring near the school and moreevents are occurring near the restaurant).

FIG. 8 illustrates an example 800 of a spatial visualization 802populated with events, undirected relationships, and/or directedrelationships. The spatial visualization 802 may comprise a neighborhoodmap populated based upon filter criteria 824. The filter criteria 824may comprise a date filter 826 of 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm and/or a locationfilter 828 of a current location from a GPS of a user's cell phone(e.g., based upon consent provided by a user of the cell phone).Accordingly, the spatial visualization 802 may be populated with events(e.g., dinner check-in events, shopping check-in events, birthdayinvitation events, birthday invitation acceptance events, and/or otherevents not illustrated) occurring near a current location of the userfrom 8:00 pm until 11:00 pm.

In one example of populating the spatial visualization 802, shoppingcheck-in events may be illustrated as transparent circle symbols withslanted or hashed lines, dinner check-in events may be illustrated astransparent circle symbols with checkered lines, and birthday partyevents (e.g., birthday invitation events and/or birthday invitationacceptance events) may be illustrated as black circle symbols within theneighborhood map. Undirected relationships may be illustrated as edgesbetween two circle symbols and directed relationships may be illustratedas arrowed edges from a first circle symbol to a second circle symbolwithin the neighborhood map.

In one example, a shopping check-in event 804 may be illustrated near astore (e.g., a friend may have checked in near the store between 8:00 pmand 11:00 pm). A first dinner check-in event 806, a second dinnercheck-in event 808, and a third dinner check-in event 812 may beillustrated near a restaurant. An undirected relationship 810 betweenthe first dinner check-in event 806 and the second dinner check-in event808 may be illustrated based upon a temporal relationship (e.g., twofriends may have checked in from the restaurant around similar times).However, no relationship may be determined for the third dinner check-inevent 812 (e.g., which may have occurred more than an hour after thefirst and second dinner check-in events).

A birthday invitation event 814 may be illustrated near Colleen's housewithin the neighborhood map (e.g., Colleen may have sent a birthdayparty invitation message from her house between 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm). Afirst birthday invitation acceptance event 816 may be illustrated nearKathy's house (e.g., Kathy may have sent a birthday party acceptancemessage from her house between 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm). A second birthdayinvitation acceptance event 818 may be illustrated near George's house(e.g., George may have sent a birthday party acceptance message from hishouse between 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm). A third birthday invitationacceptance event 820 may be illustrated near Sebastian's house (e.g.,Sebastian may have sent a birthday party acceptance message from hishouse between 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm). A set of directed relationships 822(e.g., a first directed relationship from the first birthday invitationacceptance event 816 to the birthday invitation event 814, a seconddirected relationship from the second birthday invitation acceptanceevent 818 to the birthday invitation event 814, a third directedrelationship from the third birthday invitation acceptance event 820 tothe birthday invitation event 814) may be illustrated from the birthdayinvitation acceptance events to the birthday invitation event 814because the birthday invitation acceptance events occurred in responseto the birthday invitation event 814. In this way, the spatialvisualization 802 may be populated with various types of events,directed relationships, and/or undirected relationships based upon thefilter criteria 824.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example 900 of a spatial visualization 902populated with events and/or undirected relationships. The spatialvisualization 902 may comprise a soccer field map populated based uponfilter criteria 932. The filter criteria 932 may comprise a date filter(e.g., a time filter) of a first half of a soccer game, an event typefilter of shot events and tackle events, and/or a user preference filterof blue team events. Accordingly, the spatial visualization 902 may bepopulated with shot events and/or tackle events of the blue teamoccurring during the first half of the soccer game.

In one example of populating the spatial visualization 902, shot eventsmay be illustrated as black circle symbols within the soccer field mapnear locations at which such shot events occurred. For example, a firstshot event 904 and a second shot event 906 may be illustrated near a redteam's soccer goal. The first shot event 904 may be illustrated with alarger black circle symbol than the second shot event 906 because thefirst shot event 904 may have been a faster, more difficult, etc. shot(e.g., indicated by a relatively high importance ranking), while thesecond shot event 906 may have been a slower, less difficult, etc. shot(e.g., indicated by a relatively low importance ranking). An undirectedrelationship 924 between the first shot event 904 and the second shotevent 906 may be illustrated because such shots may have both been madeby the same player Emily. A third shot event 908, a fourth shot event910, and/or a fifth shot event 912 may be illustrated within the soccerfield map. The fourth shot event 910 may be illustrated with a largerblack circle symbol than the third shot event 908 and/or the fifth shotevent 912 because the fourth shot event 910 may have been a faster, moredifficult, etc. shot (e.g., indicated by a relatively high importanceranking), while the third shot event 908 and/or the fifth shot event 912may have been slower, less difficult, etc. shots (e.g., indicated by arelatively low importance ranking). A set of undirected relationships926 may be illustrated between the third, fourth, and fifth shot eventsbecause such shots may have all been made by the same player Bill.

Tackle events may be illustrated as transparent circle symbols withcheckered lines within the soccer field map near locations at which suchtackle events occurred. For example, a first tackle event 914 and asecond tackle event 916 may be illustrated within the soccer field map.An undirected relationship 928 may be illustrated between the firsttackle event 914 and the second tackle event 916 because such tacklesmay have been made by the same player Emily. A third tackle event 918and a fourth tackle event 920 may be illustrated near the blue team'ssoccer goal. An undirected relationship 930 may be illustrated betweenthe third tackle event 918 and the fourth tackle event 920 because suchtackles may have all been made by goalie Ray. The third tackle event 918may be illustrated with a larger circle symbol than the fourth tackleevent 920 because the third tackle event 918 may have resulted in alonger interruption in play, for example (e.g., indicated by arelatively high importance ranking). In this way, the spatialvisualization 902 may be populated with various types of events and/orundirected relationships based upon the filter criteria 932.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example 1000 of a spatial visualization 1002populated with events and/or directed relationships. The spatialvisualization 1002 may comprise a soccer field map populated based uponfilter criteria 1022. The filter criteria 1022 may comprise a datefilter (e.g., a time filter) of a second half of a soccer game, an eventtype filter of shot events and throw-in events, and/or a user preferencefilter of blue team events. Accordingly, the spatial visualization 1002may be populated with shot events and/or throw-in events of the blueteam occurring during the second half of the soccer game.

In one example of populating the spatial visualization 1002, shot eventsmay be illustrated as transparent circle symbols with checkered lineswithin the soccer field map near locations at which such shot eventsoccurred. For example, a first shot event 1004, a second shot event1006, and/or a third shot event 1008 may be illustrated within thesoccer field map. Throw-in events may be illustrated as black circlesymbols within the soccer field map near locations at which suchthrow-in events occurred. For example, a first throw-in event 1010, asecond throw-in event 1012, and/or a third throw-in event 1014 may beillustrated within the soccer field map. Directed relationships may beillustrated as arrowed edges between events. For example, a firstdirected relationship 1016 may be illustrated as an arrowed edge fromthe first shot event 1004 to the first throw-in event 1010 because thefirst shot may have caused the first throw-in event to occur during thesecond half of the soccer game (e.g., the first shot may have caused theball to go over the side line, thus resulting in the first throw-in). Asecond directed relationship 1018 may be illustrated as an arrowed edgefrom the second shot event 1006 to the second throw-in event 1012because the second shot may have caused the second throw-in event tooccur during the second half of the soccer game (e.g., the second shotmay have caused the ball to go over the side line, thus resulting in thesecond throw-in). A third directed relationship 1020 may be illustratedas an arrowed edge from the third shot event 1008 to the third throw-inevent 1014 because the third shot may have caused the third throw-inevent to occur during the second half of the soccer game (e.g., thethird shot may have caused the ball to go over the side line, thusresulting in the third throw-in). In this way, the spatial visualization1002 may be populated with various types of events and/or directedrelationships based upon the filter criteria 1022. The second throw-inevent 1012 may be illustrated with a larger black circle symbol becausethe second throw-in event 1012 may have led to a scoring shot (e.g.,indicated by a relatively high importance ranking).

Still another embodiment involves a computer-readable medium comprisingprocessor-executable instructions configured to implement one or more ofthe techniques presented herein. An exemplary computer-readable mediumthat may be devised in these ways is illustrated in FIG. 11, wherein theimplementation 1100 comprises a computer-readable medium 1116 (e.g., aCD-R, DVD-R, or a platter of a hard disk drive), on which is encodedcomputer-readable data 1114. This computer-readable data 1114 in turncomprises a set of computer instructions 1112 configured to operateaccording to one or more of the principles set forth herein. In one suchembodiment 1100, the processor-executable computer instructions 1112 maybe configured to perform a method 1110, such as at least some of theexemplary method 100 of FIG. 1 and/or at least some of exemplary method200 of FIG. 2, for example. In another such embodiment, theprocessor-executable instructions 1112 may be configured to implement asystem, such as at least some of the exemplary system 300 of FIG. 3, forexample. Many such computer-readable media may be devised by those ofordinary skill in the art that are configured to operate in accordancewith the techniques presented herein.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system”,“interface”, and the like are generally intended to refer to acomputer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. For example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program,and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application runningon a controller and the controller can be a component. One or morecomponents may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and acomponent may be localized on one computer and/or distributed betweentwo or more computers.

Furthermore, the claimed subject matter may be implemented as a method,apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. Of course, those skilled inthe art will recognize many modifications may be made to thisconfiguration without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimedsubject matter.

FIG. 12 and the following discussion provide a brief, generaldescription of a suitable computing environment to implement embodimentsof one or more of the provisions set forth herein. The operatingenvironment of FIG. 12 is only one example of a suitable operatingenvironment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to thescope of use or functionality of the operating environment. Examplecomputing devices include, but are not limited to, personal computers,server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, mobile devices (such asmobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), media players, andthe like), multiprocessor systems, consumer electronics, mini computers,mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include anyof the above systems or devices, and the like.

Although not required, embodiments are described in the general contextof “computer readable instructions” being executed by one or morecomputing devices. Computer readable instructions may be distributed viacomputer readable media (discussed below). Computer readableinstructions may be implemented as program modules, such as functions,objects, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), data structures, andthe like, that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstractdata types. Typically, the functionality of the computer readableinstructions may be combined or distributed as desired in variousenvironments.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a system 1210 comprising a computingdevice 1212 configured to implement one or more embodiments providedherein. In one configuration, computing device 1212 includes at leastone processing unit 1216 and memory 1218. Depending on the exactconfiguration and type of computing device, memory 1218 may be volatile(such as RAM, for example), non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory,etc., for example) or some combination of the two. This configuration isillustrated in FIG. 12 by dashed line 1214.

In other embodiments, device 1212 may include additional features and/orfunctionality. For example, device 1212 may also include additionalstorage (e.g., removable and/or non-removable) including, but notlimited to, magnetic storage, optical storage, and the like. Suchadditional storage is illustrated in FIG. 12 by storage 1220. In oneembodiment, computer readable instructions to implement one or moreembodiments provided herein may be in storage 1220. Storage 1220 mayalso store other computer readable instructions to implement anoperating system, an application program, and the like. Computerreadable instructions may be loaded in memory 1218 for execution byprocessing unit 1216, for example.

The term “computer readable media” as used herein includes computerstorage media. Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile,removable and non-removable media implemented in any method ortechnology for storage of information such as computer readableinstructions or other data. Memory 1218 and storage 1220 are examples ofcomputer storage media. Computer storage media includes, but is notlimited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs) or other optical storage,magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to storethe desired information and which can be accessed by device 1212. Anysuch computer storage media may be part of device 1212.

Device 1212 may also include communication connection(s) 1226 thatallows device 1212 to communicate with other devices. Communicationconnection(s) 1226 may include, but is not limited to, a modem, aNetwork Interface Card (NIC), an integrated network interface, a radiofrequency transmitter/receiver, an infrared port, a USB connection, orother interfaces for connecting computing device 1212 to other computingdevices. Communication connection(s) 1226 may include a wired connectionor a wireless connection. Communication connection(s) 1226 may transmitand/or receive communication media.

The term “computer readable media” may include communication media.Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions orother data in a “modulated data signal” such as a carrier wave or othertransport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. Theterm “modulated data signal” may include a signal that has one or moreof its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal.

Device 1212 may include input device(s) 1224 such as keyboard, mouse,pen, voice input device, touch input device, infrared cameras, videoinput devices, and/or any other input device. Output device(s) 1222 suchas one or more displays, speakers, printers, and/or any other outputdevice may also be included in device 1212. Input device(s) 1224 andoutput device(s) 1222 may be connected to device 1212 via a wiredconnection, wireless connection, or any combination thereof. In oneembodiment, an input device or an output device from another computingdevice may be used as input device(s) 1224 or output device(s) 1222 forcomputing device 1212.

Components of computing device 1212 may be connected by variousinterconnects, such as a bus. Such interconnects may include aPeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), such as PCI Express, aUniversal Serial Bus (USB), firewire (IEEE 1394), an optical busstructure, and the like. In another embodiment, components of computingdevice 1212 may be interconnected by a network. For example, memory 1218may be comprised of multiple physical memory units located in differentphysical locations interconnected by a network.

Those skilled in the art will realize that storage devices utilized tostore computer readable instructions may be distributed across anetwork. For example, a computing device 1230 accessible via a network1228 may store computer readable instructions to implement one or moreembodiments provided herein. Computing device 1212 may access computingdevice 1230 and download a part or all of the computer readableinstructions for execution. Alternatively, computing device 1212 maydownload pieces of the computer readable instructions, as needed, orsome instructions may be executed at computing device 1212 and some atcomputing device 1230.

Various operations of embodiments are provided herein. In oneembodiment, one or more of the operations described may constitutecomputer readable instructions stored on one or more computer readablemedia, which if executed by a computing device, will cause the computingdevice to perform the operations described. The order in which some orall of the operations are described should not be construed as to implythat these operations are necessarily order dependent. Alternativeordering will be appreciated by one skilled in the art having thebenefit of this description. Further, it will be understood that not alloperations are necessarily present in each embodiment provided herein.

Moreover, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as anexample, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design describedherein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as advantageousover other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word exemplary isintended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in thisapplication, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the naturalinclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or Xemploys both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any ofthe foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as usedin this application and the appended claims may generally be construedto mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from contextto be directed to a singular form. Also, at least one of A and B and/orthe like generally means A or B or both A and B.

Also, although the disclosure has been shown and described with respectto one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modificationswill occur to others skilled in the art based upon a reading andunderstanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. Thedisclosure includes all such modifications and alterations and islimited only by the scope of the following claims. In particular regardto the various functions performed by the above described components(e.g., elements, resources, etc.), the terms used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though notstructurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs thefunction in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations of thedisclosure. In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosuremay have been disclosed with respect to only one of severalimplementations, such feature may be combined with one or more otherfeatures of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageousfor any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent thatthe terms “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof areused in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms areintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for populating a spatial visualization,comprising: extracting a set of events from a data source, an eventcomprising a location, an event time, and an event type; creating a setof relationships associated with the set of events, a relationshipcomprising a first event, a second event, a relationship time, and arelationship type; and populating a spatial visualization using one ormore events from the set of events and one or more relationships fromthe set of relationships.
 2. The method of claim 1, the extracting a setof events comprising: assigning an event type to an event based upon atleast one of: evaluating an event type field defined by the data sourceto identify the event type; and executing a classification techniqueupon data from the data source associated with the event to identify theevent type.
 3. The method of claim 1, the creating a set ofrelationships, comprising: creating a relationship based upon at leastone of: a temporal relationship between a first event and a secondevent, the temporal relationship identified based upon a first eventtime of the first event corresponding to a second event time of thesecond event; a spatial relationship between the first event and thesecond event, the spatial relationship identified based upon a firstlocation of the first event corresponding to a second location of thesecond event; a referential relationship between the first event and thesecond event, the referential relationship identified based upon dataassociated with the first event comprising a reference to dataassociated with the second event; and a contextual relationship betweenthe first event and the second event, the contextual relationshipidentified based upon a first event type of the first eventcorresponding to a second event type of the second event.
 4. The methodof claim 1, the creating a set of relationships, comprising: defining arelationship type for a relationship between a first event and a secondevent based upon a first event type of the first event and a secondevent type of the second event.
 5. The method of claim 1, the creating aset of relationships, comprising: defining a relationship time for arelationship between a first event and a second event based upon a firstevent time of the first event and a second event time of the secondevent.
 6. The method of claim 1, the populating a spatial visualizationcomprising: receiving filter criteria comprising at least one of a datefilter, a location filter, an event type filter, and a user preferencefilter; and applying the filter criteria to the set of events todetermine the one or more events used to populate the spatialvisualization.
 7. The method of claim 1, the populating a spatialvisualization comprising: receiving filter criteria comprising at leastone of a date filter, a location filter, an event type filter, arelationship type filter, and a user preference filter; and applying thefilter criteria to the set of relationships to determine the one or morerelationships used to populate the spatial visualization.
 8. The methodof claim 1, the set of relationships comprising at least one of: adirected relationship comprising a first event having a directedrelationship to a second event; and an undirected relationshipcomprising a first event and a second event that have an undirectedrelationship.
 9. The method of claim 1, comprising: receiving filtercriteria comprising at least one of a date filter, a location filter, anevent type filter, a relationship type filter, and a user preferencefilter; creating a filtered set of events and a filtered set ofrelationships based upon the filter criteria; and repopulating thespatial visualization using at least one of the filtered set of eventsand the filtered set of relationships to create a repopulated spatialvisualization.
 10. The method of claim 1, the populating a spatialvisualization comprising: representing a first event comprising a firstevent type within the spatial visualization using a first symbol; andrepresenting a second event comprising a second event type within thespatial visualization using a second symbol different than the firstsymbol.
 11. The method of claim 1, the populating a spatialvisualization comprising: representing an event using a symbol withinthe spatial visualization; the symbol sized according to an importanceranking determined based upon evaluating data associated with the eventfrom the data source.
 12. The method of claim 1, comprising animatingthe spatial visualization.
 13. The method of claim 1, the data sourcecomprising a real-time stream of data.
 14. The method of claim 1,comprising: presenting the spatial visualization as an interactive userinterface, the spatial visualization representing an event as a symbol,an undirected relationship as an edge between a first event and a secondevent, and a directed relationship as an arrowed edge from a first eventto a second event.
 15. A system for populating a spatial visualization,comprising: a population component configured to: extract a set ofevents from a data source, an event comprising a location, an eventtime, and an event type; create a set of relationships associated withthe set of events, a relationship comprising a first event, a secondevent, a relationship time, and a relationship type; and populate aspatial visualization using one or more events from the set of eventsand one or more relationships from the set of relationships.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, comprising: an interaction component configured to:receive filter criteria comprising at least one of a date filter, alocation filter, an event type filter, and a user preference filter;create a filtered set of events and a filtered set of relationshipsbased upon the filter criteria; and repopulate the spatial visualizationusing at least one of the filtered set of events and the filtered set ofrelationships to create a repopulated spatial visualization.
 17. Thesystem of claim 15, the population component configured to: receivefilter criteria comprising at least one of a date filter, a locationfilter, an event type filter, and a user preference filter; and applythe filter criteria to the set of events to determine the one or moreevents used to populate the spatial visualization.
 18. The system ofclaim 15, the population component configured to: receive filtercriteria comprising at least one of a date filter, a location filter, anevent type filter, and a user preference filter; and apply the filtercriteria to the set of relationships to determine the one or morerelationships used to populate the spatial visualization.
 19. The systemof claim 15, the population component configured to: create arelationship based upon at least one of: a temporal relationship betweena first event and a second event, the temporal relationship identifiedbased upon a first event time of the first event corresponding to asecond event time of the second event; a spatial relationship betweenthe first event and the second event, the spatial relationshipidentified based upon a first location of the first event correspondingto a second location of the second event; a referential relationshipbetween the first event and the second event, the referentialrelationship identified based upon data associated with the first eventcomprising a reference to data associated with the second event; and acontextual relationship between the first event and the second event,the contextual relationship identified based upon a first event type ofthe first event corresponding to a second event type of the secondevent.
 20. A method for populating a spatial visualization, comprising:receiving filter criteria comprising at least one of a date filter, alocation filter, an event type filter, and a user preference filter;identifying one or more events from a set of events extracted from adata source based upon the filter criteria; identifying one or morerelationships associated with the one or more events; and populating aspatial visualization using the one or more events and the one or morerelationships.